There’s now a new Desert Island Adventure game that is easier to understand for younger learners. You can find the $0.99 download here or below as well as the post to the original ESL deserted island game. A few weeks ago I was tutoring 3 young girls. I think they’re in grade 5 in primary school, so they’re probably about 10 years old or so. There English isn’t bad, but they don’t understand enough to play many of my adventure games. I wanted to play Desert Island Adventure with them since they like Horror Island so much when we did it the week before. So I went back and rewrote several sections of the game. Here are a few noticeable changes:

Start: I didn’t like starting the game with the title showing up. Whenever we got to the part where it asks them where they’re going they always answer with the name of the game. Now they have to give a bit more of a creative answer for a destination.

Rules: I made the rules a lot easier to understand for lower-level ESL students. I got rid of the word ‘health’ entirely and really cut back on the food and health section. I tried to make it easier to understand, although teachers will have to do a lot of explaining still.

Places: One thing the ESL teacher will have to guide the students through is the section where they tell you the three places on the island. The answers are mountain, forest, and beach and I’ve nearly always had to say at least one when the students can’t guess.

Language: I really had to dumb-down the language so that younger students can still have a good time and understand most things. The boars are now called pigs, and shelter has been changed to house. There are many other changes, but you’ll still find the raft/boat section when you’re getting off the island to be a little difficult.

As usual I encourage anyone who downloads the game to change it as they wish for their particular ESL class. I’ve played ESL Desert Island Adventure many times over the years, and I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to make an easier version. I hope some of you ESL teachers out there get some good use out of it, and if there’s a positive response I might make different and easier versions of some of my other games. You can read of some teacher testimonials here.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be running a series of posts on different training centers in China, specifically in Shenzhen.

I’ll focus on the three I’ve worked for, English First (EF), one of the largest training centers in all of China;

Chinese-operated training centers that compete with the international training centers, such as EF;

And the single-owner operator training centers that often struggle to survive in the competitive market that training centers belong to in modern day China.

You’re only going to see training centers in China grow and grow in the coming years. Right now there are hundreds of schools being operated by the biggest players in the market, the internationally-backed training centers. Not to be outdone the Chinese have opened plenty of their own training centers, often having more Chinese teachers than foreign teachers. Rounding out the pack are the small upstart training centers operated and often jointly owned by a foreigner. All of these training centers have their benefits and their drawbacks. You certainly won’t have as many students as you would at a public school, but you’ll probably have to work more hours. You’ll get paid more than most public schools when you work at a training center, but you’ll get less holiday time as well. The support materials provided to you by the training centers are often a whole lot more than you would have gotten at a public school, and a whole lot more useful. And finally the headmaster or your main contact teacher probably won’t monitor you that much, or even expect that much from you. At training centers, however, it’s all about the few getting rich, no matter how much they profess to only care about teaching English. They’ll constantly monitor you, mainly to ensure you don’t cost them money. Training centers are in it for the money, bottom line. Let’s take a quick look at a few of the leading international training centers: English First This company began in Sweden in 1965 as a way to send students to England to learn English. The company now has over 400 schools in 54 countries around the world and more than 35,000 employees. The company specializes in both adult and kids schools and is separated into regional areas. China, Indonesia, and Russia all use the same curriculums, for instance, which other countries may not. More than 15 million students have used the company’s products and their plans for expansion in China only continue. You’ll make about 12,000 RMB when you start at EF, and about 1,000 each month extra every year you stay on. If you don’t make it to a management position within about 2 years you won’t be going anywhere. And even the managers are only making about 1,000 RMB more than you each month. Wall Street English This school began in 1972 in Italy by Li Wenhao. Today the company operates more than 400 schools in 27 different countries around the world. The company first came to China in 2000 and now has more than 50 training centers in all the major cities. More than 160,000 students have come through their doors, so they’ll only get larger. I knew someone who worked at Wall Street English for a short time. He told me that everyone there seemed to not like being there, they wouldn’t say hello to one another in the morning, and just seemed to drag themselves through the day. He also said they had to work 6 days a week, but they get paid more at Wall Street English than at other schools, about 14,000 to 16,000 RMB starting out. But remember, that’s before the taxes you’ll have to pay, which are quite steep. Disney English This training center is a relative newcomer on the block, but one which looks poised to dominate the market. They first came to China in 2008 shortly after the Olympics and set up shop in Shanghai, the headquarters for many of the leading training centers. By the end of 2012 Disney was operating in 10 different cities and they had more than 44 Disney-themed schools. They want to get that number to rise to 148 schools by 2015 with more than 150,000 students getting hooked on their characters and themes, and maybe a little English while they’re at it. The company expects its Disney English Schools to earn them more than $100 million annually by that time. I’m not sure what the teachers make here, as the first schools are just beginning to open at the time of this writing. I’m thinking they do pretty good though. Web International English This company is known for their little stands and manned-kiosks in many of the major shopping malls. They’re always ready to pass out a flyer to someone passing by, and with good reason. The company came to China in 1998 and now has more than 100 training centers up and running. They’ve had more than 150,000 students in that time, and like the others, they’ll only grow larger. This is an example of a training center that was started in China but which has managed to run with the big international players. I have a feeling the teachers at Web International English don’t make as much, but I’ve never met anyone who’s worked for them so can’t say for sure.

When you choose to teach English in China with CTLC you’ll work until June 15th. At that point your contract with your public school will end and you’ll have to leave the country. Well, that’s not exactly true. You can switch over to a tourist visa and visit all of those places you missed throughout your busy year, or you can switch employers. If you want to continue on for another year with CTLC, however, you’ll be forced to head back to America for at least part of the summer. End of Contract When I taught English with CTLC my contract ended on June 15th both years. In June of 2009 this was on a Monday, and in June of 2010 this was on a Tuesday. Starting that last short week was always difficult, but if you’ve got a good school they might let you end early. Each public school in China is different and there’s a good chance your actual teaching duties might end a whole lot sooner than that. I’ve heard of some teachers who stopped teaching at the end of May! You can expect a big dinner banquet of some sort if you’ve had good relations with your school, the headmaster, and the other teachers. Most likely you’ll at least be taken out to a restaurant. Many of the Chinese teachers will just be finishing up with their final exams around that time, so they’ll be ready to cut loose just as much as you will. Traveling as a Tourist If you want to travel around China for a month of so following your contract, I’d let it be known early. Your school will probably be able to help you get your visa switched over, either in Hong Kong or right in Shenzhen if you’re lucky. If you are planning on traveling, plan early, unlike how most Chinese people do it. It’ll be hard for you to save up money throughout the year with CTLC, but if you can sock away 2,000 RMB each month for several months you’ll be looking good. And remember, you’ll also be getting that airline reimbursement money at the end of your contract, perhaps as much as 3,000 RMB. That will go a long way in some of the smaller towns and if you travel by train. The first year I finished teaching English with CTLC I traveled by train to Beijing for a week. I still had a few weeks left on my residence permit, and you might be looking forward to that as well. From there I headed up into Mongolia, across Russia to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and then by plain to Spain for the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. After that I travelled around the various countries on a Eurail Pass for a couple more weeks. I had to save up quite a bit to do that, and it was hard on just the 5,000 RMB I made each month with CTLC. Switching Employers Switching employers while you’re in China is difficult but not impossible. I did this after my second year teaching English with CTLC when I began working for English First (EF). I started talking with EF in May and was able to get my residence permit switched over with a lot of paperwork help from my school and CTLC. You might also be able to find another public school that is willing to hire you for the rest of that school year, a few weeks time, and then have you come back the next year. You might even be able to stay in Shenzhen during that time if you get things switched over with your visa. Many of these public schools will require you to work more, but you’ll get paid more, and perhaps even for the summer months you’re not working. If you go to a training center like English First, be prepared for a grueling summer schedule that will last 2 months and have you working 6 days a week. You’ll also get paid more, and your classes will be smaller, but that workload gets old fast. Still, you’ll probably also get more support materials provided to you, which is different from planning your own lessons each week. Now you’ll have to do it each day, however. Heading Home When you finally do plan to head home, either from travelling or right at the end of your CTLC contract, be prepared. You’ve been in China for a year, which isn’t that long, but it will take you some time to readjust. Reverse culture-shock is almost worse than the actual culture-shock you’ll experience when you first get here. If you’re going back with plans to return and teach with CTLC again, be prepared to hand over your passport at some time in August. Some teachers are eager to get back home and forget about China, others are looking forward to heading back as soon as possible. And you can be sure that there will be another 100 to 150 new teachers just like you were who are dying to get here, for better or worse.